The more horror movies I watch, the better Scream gets. Turning the slasher genre on its head with this self aware take on proceedings.

The biggest problem that Scream would've had to overcome would be to nail its tone. There's a line where your horror movie becomes a comedy if it is too self aware and hammy. Thankfully here the tone is kept tense with some light sprinkling of dark humour here and there.

Sharp scripting keeps what would be a pretty standard slasher flick fresh throughout. There's some great red herrings and tongue in cheek referencing to other horror films. Characters are written to be fun twists on stereotypes and the killer is kept exciting and unpredictable with his almost bumbling presence.

I want to particularly praise the opening, which back in 1996 must've been an amazing surprise to see the "main star" get murdered right away. To this day it remains a textbook example of suspense building. It perfectly sets the stage for the rest of the film, even if it doesn't manage to be as scary as this scene again.

One of the best slashers out there. Wes Craven looks back on the genre he helped to mold and gives it a fresh coat of 'meta' paint.